Friday, March 27, 2009

New Baby for Drowsy Water Ranch

I've said it before and I'll say it again: living on a family ranch in Colorado means you get to experience life up close. Births, deaths, traumas and triumphs are all just part of the job. Today's post is about one of the happiest (and cutest) parts of the living on a Colorado dude ranch--the babies.

We had our first baby calf towards the end of last week. She is a heifer (girl-cow) and comes from one of Randy Sue's newest cows. Isn't she just adorable? Baby cows are some of the cutest things you'll ever see at a ranch. They are all awkward and leggy but fluffy and full of energy also. It really is a shock to the system watching a baby calf run and play and hop around like a little puppy. You almost think they must be a different species than the big, slow, chubby-chicks they have for moms.

Don't get me wrong, the moms are no joke. Can you imagine getting pregnant every year, being pregnant for nine months, then having your baby in an open field laying in the snow and cold? Seems like they'd get sick of it. But, every year they guard, protect and care for their little calf with the utmost of seriousness and concern--just like any other mom. Honestly, having cows around was part of my reason to decide to forgo much medical intervention during Peyton's birth. If a cow can have baby after baby while laying down bellowing in an open field with no help, then, by-golly, I should be able to have a baby just fine in a warm room surrounded by a swarm of attendants catering to my every need. Sure, like people, it's not always that simple but cows seem to live through the experience no matter how painful it might have been. That was the lesson I learned from them and it's a lesson I wouldn't have learned if I didn't live at Drowsy Water Ranch.

Once again, I've digressed from this family ranch blog to odd topics of motherhood. Lucky for me, we have many more calfs on the way that will need ample ooh-ing and ah-ing.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Hijacking the DWR Blog

This is Lauren: summer wrangler and winter office assistant extraordinaire. I'm filling in for Gretta this week while she sunbathes on powder white beaches and swims in clear, turquoise waters.

I'm not jealous at all. I like to think that mud season on the ranch is a lot like a tropical paradise.

Now, I was originally going to devote this post to my fantastic wrangling abilities, my gorgeous horse, and my humility. But everyone already knows these things and there's no sense in preaching to the choir, so instead I'll leave you guys with some pictures of last summer to remind us that the mud season will one day end and that we have a beautiful, fantastic summer to look forward to.

Enjoy.

And don't worry, Gretta will soon be back to keep you updated on all the ranch happenings.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Other Life Out There

At Drowsy Water Ranch, we do have close encounters with unusual life. We live where they do, and every once in a while, we actually get to see them. Above, two moose have been hanging around the ranch for the last few weeks. We think they are two cow calves, but we're not sure. By the way, what do you call plural moose? Mooses? Mice? That one has always stumped me.

Here are a few deer just strolling down the road. This picture is from our deck. I guess walking on a road would be easier than walking through the snow.

And this, if you can see them, is a herd of elk on the hillside. They are around early in the morning a lot of days.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Mud Season at Drowsy Water Ranch

Around Drowsy Water Ranch, you get really excited for spring. You start dreaming about flowers and budding leaves, sunshine and baby animals. And then the sun actually starts shining, the days start warming up and what you end up with is a whole heck of a lot of M-U-D, mud, mud, mud!

What you forget when you live in the city is that concrete and asphalt are really wonderful things. You can walk out your front door and not step in mud. You can drive your car down the road and not step in mud.

You can let your kids play outside and they won't come in covered in mud. It is unavoidable. You can't go anywhere with out returning covered in the stuff. It gets in the car, in the house, and probably in our food.

You end up wishing that either it would get really cold and snow again or just heat up and dry out already.

And in March, it could do either still. We'll just have to wait to see!